LAKE Macquarie City Council is about to trial a lake tidal flap system designed to protect low-lying communities from high-tide inundation.
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“The tidal flaps will be fitted into two stormwater outlets into the lake at Marks Point and are designed to prevent water from high tides flowing up the pipes and inundating low-lying streets and land,” a spokesperson for the council said.
“The effectiveness of the tidal flaps will be monitored by local residents.”
The trial is one of a series of methods being considered in the council’s Marks Point and Belmont South local adaptation plan.
If the tidal flaps are effective in the Marks Point trial, they will be considered for use in other parts of Lake Macquarie, including Westlakes suburbs.
The trial will cost $23,800 and has been made possible by a state government grant of $74,800 to the council.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast, Scot MacDonald, said the money was from the Building Resilience to Climate Change Program.
“Local councils have a significant frontline role in managing the risks of climate change in their communities so those communities are resilient to the effects of climate change,” Mr MacDonald said.
The remaining $51,000 given to the council will be used for assessing housing stock vulnerability to climate change hazards.
Council will collect information about existing housing stock including age and construction style, then develop a rapid assessment methodology for determining the vulnerability of houses at risk, which will ultimately make the community more resilient.
“The information collected is not intended to change current planning controls, but may be used to inform discussions about insurance affordability,” council said.
In 2008, Lake Macquarie City Council became one of the first local government areas in Australia to adopt a sea level rise policy and action plan.